1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to greeting cards which include a gift card having encoded information and which may be redeemed for goods or services. More particularly, it is concerned with a greeting card which functions as a carrier for a second card attached thereto having encoded information, most preferably in the form of a optically or magnetically scanable region which may be activated at the time of purchase whereby the recipient of the greeting card may use the card to purchase merchandise or services.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Greeting cards have long been used to convey congratulations or warm sentiment to recipients. A benefit of having preprinted greeting cards is that professional artwork and corresponding textual expression is provided to the purchaser, who may then add personal notes and/or sign the card. On many occasions, the sender of the card may include cash or a check as a present to the recipient. Some cards have been designed with special pockets to hold currency intended as a gift.
While greeting cards are very popular, they are a somewhat detached form of communication. The greeting card provides a means of conveying sentiment and a message, but is not interactive. Often, the sender of a card, such as a parent or grandparent, would like to convey a gift but also be the recipient of a telephone call from the child or grandchild, for example. Moreover, some gift-givers prefer to give something more specific than cash, such as gift certificates which are redeemable at specific merchants preferred by the recipient.
More recently, telephone calling cards have been manufactured and sold at retail. These telephone calling cards and the systems for their use are described generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,706,275 and 5,918,909, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The telephone calling cards are typically distributed as promotional items or displayed at retail, where they are attached to a cardboard panel which acts as a carrier. A portion of the telephone calling card carrying a magnetically encoded strip extends from the margin of the cardboard carrier. At the retail checkout stand, the telephone calling card is activated after the purchaser pays the required retail amount by “swiping” the encoded strip through an electronic reader. This activates the account for the card from a remote computer for a metered amount of telephone usage corresponding to the personal identification number or PIN particular to and identified on the card. This credits the account so that upon purchase, telephone usage is “prepaid”. The user then dials in the PIN in the process of using the card, with the usage being deducted from the computer-held account until exhausted. When the available number of minutes of usage have been exhausted, any calls in progress are automatically terminated, and no further calls can be initiated from that card unless additional minutes are purchased for that PIN. In the case of sample cards or other prepaid cards, an account may be created without the necessity of scanning the card upon purchase. While these encoded areas are typically magnetically encoded strips, the encoded areas may also be provided as optically scannable blocks may also be employed to carry the account information from which purchases of goods or services may be deducted.